"People who live in residential neighborhoods are cobbling together parcels and going in for a multi-family zone change," Boughton said. "Look at Hospital Avenue. It seems that buildings and condominiums are springing up in all corners of our city."

More than a dozen single-family houses or duplexes were converted to multiple units in the past two years near
Danbury Hospital
.

The city approved 366 new housing units in the 12 months through October - a 63 percent increase over the previous year.

In addition, the city Engineering Department had 35 subdivision plans awaiting staff review as of Dec. 1, with more arriving each day, said Public Works Director
William Buckley
.

City Planner
Dennis Elpern
said the three building zones affected by a moratorium are scattered throughout the city. He said the condo ban would have the effect of shifting housing development toward Main Street.

Boughton had previously proposed a tax break for developers who want to build market-rate housing downtown to attract more middle-class home-buyers to that part of the city. The
Common Council
approved the tax break at its Dec. 7 meeting.